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crimea. russian soldiers have seized military bases. >> it was not the day sergy expected. russians came to his base wanting him to surrender. "they are here to bring stability", he refused to give up. >> the colonel watches and tells someone they're here. >> the ukrainians move an armoured fighting vehicle to the gate. >> know one is coming. i'm a lone.

we have the two armies in a standoff. ukrainian and russian troops all around here. they came in early and told the commander to give up the base. he said he wouldn't. now they are standing against each other. they want the ukrainians to lay down arms. >> an offer of negotiations. the colonel goes to visit the growing russian encampment. all they cap agree on is no one wants to start a war. an orthodox priest appeals for piece. some coming to prays the russian. >> people from another country here. what do we call it, intervention, occupation. they have no legal right to be

here. >> but they are. given the way they are setting up, there's no way they'll be leading students. >> silent standoff. let's go crimea's capital. nick schifrin is standing by. update us with the situation there tonight. >> this is the middle of the capital of crimea, and it is a coast down. there is literally no one around me. there are no sounds at all, except for a few stray dogs. you get a sense that this is a green zone and you get a sense that this area is completely occupied by the russian military. not only here, around parliament and at the airport with armed men, heavily armed men. they don't approach anyone, they are not tense at all. they are outside the airport looking at etch who is coming out. the u.s. says that russia is completely in control of crimea, with some 6,000 soldiers.

senior u.s. officials saying that they are heavily armed and digging trenches along the border between russia and crimea. you get a sense that the tide is turning and the power has shifted. you have an embarrassing moment for the new government in kiev when the admiral, the head of the navy defected earlier today, switching allegiances - not from the new government officials in kiev, but instead to officials in moscow. rather that officials here who pledge allegiance to moscow. >> i swear allegiance to the residents of the autojob mouse republic of crimea. i swear to obey orders of the chief commander of the autonomous republic of crimea. orders approved from military units. >> to give you a sense, the prime minister here was elected

this weekend after russian soldiers walked in the parliament and at gun point made parliamentarians choose russians. the officials in kiev sacked him. it's a bit too late. frankly the military here are very much giving itself over to the russian or rather to the pro-russian officials in the capital. such a surreal feeling seeing the foreign force. do you get the impression that the russians are warmly welcomed by most people in crimea, or is it the case that they are being tolerated. >> well, i think jennifer glasse pointed that out well. if you are an australian soldiers, and you -- if you are a ukrainian soldier and you look out the gates and see six layers of troops.

crimea has never wanted to be a part of independent ukraine. it considers what is happening in kiev a coup and believes that the people in kiev who are running the government are not legitimate. as you heard in jen's piece, some are saying that we shouldn't have russian soldiers, some are welcoming the russian soldiers, 60 or 70% of crimea is very much russian, there are 20 or 30% who look west. minorities. they do demand some kind of application from the government in kiev, and that's who they are looking for, for example now, but frankly the military is not giving it to them, the local government and nobody from the national government demonstrated an ability or willingness to defend the people looking to the west or kiev. now all power, it seems, in crimea switching to the east. >> they seem to be on their own. nick schifrin live for us. thank you. >> ukraine is preparing itself

for a russian offensive. hundreds of men of all ages have gone to recruiting centres to volunteering their services. row is in kiev and spoke to some of them. >> ukrainians are preparing themselves for war. in kiev were there has already been so much bloodshed people express their allegiance to ukraine and their defines of russia. it is fighting rhetoric. for now it is talk. parliament has been meeting in emergency session. afterwards the prime minister said russia had brought them to the briping of disazer. >> this is not the threat. this is actually the declaration of war to my country. and we urge president vladimir putin to pull back his military and stick to the international obligations and bilateral and

multilateral agreements that were signed between ukraine and russia. >> the army opened recruiting stations across the country. there are nine in the capital alone. this office on the outskirts of kiev, men were waiting outside before the doors opened. >> people have been responding enthusiastically to the call to mobilise. here there are young men, older men, people with military experience, people without military experience, but who want to take part. we visited a total of three stations in and around kiev and in the first few hours several hundred people have enlift ed. i can tell you that we will win, we have to win. >> russia is power: on the other side we have our friends in europe and the united

states who claimed support. we'll fight until then. >> this is the gravest confrontation between russia and the pest since the end of the cold war. >> what started as a protest movement escalated beyond what most demonstrators could have enjoyed. it's not over yet. >> phil ittner is live in kiev for us. he has more on the latest developments on the capital. what kind of response are you seeing from the new government? >> it is of grave concern, the government is in a state of disarray. they are learning as they go. many are not career politicians, and there is concern that they can run the county. the prime minister appointed 18 regional governor, many will now form a network replacing the

ousted leaders, and hopefully it leads from the perspective of kiev, getting a proper government up and running. >> talk about whether the military is an option. may they try to send their soldiers into crimea? >> there still are ukrainian soldiers in crimea. as a matter of fact we are hearing reports that one of the toughest units within the ukrainian military is there. the marines that were based - naval bases on the peninsula, they are still there, and they are pretty hard. they are currently, according to reports that we are getting in the russian media, that they are holed up in a little seaside town. now, that could be a problem for crimea. as far as the larger country is

concerned, there's a major issue with the military. it's comparatively small. they've called up conscripts, they've called up reservists, facing the russian bear, it will be a tall order. >> the german chancellor spoke to vladimir putin on the phone, what can you tell us on the fon. >> we are told by a german government that in that conversation between angela merkel, and vladimir putin, they discussed is number of things. angela merkel stressing upon the president that there needs to be a sustained integrity of ukraine's territory, something that the russians say will not happen because they are concerned about the crimean peninsula, because that's where the black sea fleet has been based.

we hear that there's some discussion of monitoring group or inspection group that would go in of a joint russian european group based from the osce - that's the organization for security and cooperation in europe, which both the e.u. and russia are members. they could go in, they could take a look around crimea, see how things are going, potentially down the road some sort of moderating group, some sort of situation where there would be troops that would keep these eastern and western allied groups separate. it's far down the road. what we are hearing from germany is the possibility that there might be an international group looking at what is happening on the ground in crimea. >> one of the many possibilities, phil ittner summing it up in crimea.

>> mike viqueira is in washington dc covering the white house's response. strong words from the administration today. >> that's right, and secretary of state john kerry announced that he will personal reply fly to kiev on tuesday to meet with ukrainian officials. this as other senior administration officials speaking on background, holding out hope that russian president vladimir putin will reverse course and withdraw his troops from crimea. >> late sunday secretary of state john kerry announced he will personally go to kiev for talks with ukrainian officials on tuesday. the administration holding out hope that russian president will reverse course and pull his troops out. secretary of state john kerry insists this is not the cold war all over again, but, he says, russia's behaviour towards ukraine invokes an earlier error. >> you don't, in the 21st century, behave in 19th century fashion by invading another country on trumped up pretext.

>> russia has complete operational control over crimea, with 6,000 plus troops on the ground. the escalating confrontation has the administration scrambling to respond. kerry and president obama worked the phones, coordinating with allies. all of them are prepared to go to the hilt in order to isolate russia with respect to this invasion. >> on the table economic sanctions. freezing assets of russian officials. stlation on trade -- isolation on trade, investment and a boycott on g8 leaders scheduled for june. there's talk of throwing russia out of the g8 altogether. >> barack obama spoke on sunday for the leaders of germany and poland. they are trying to provide putin with what they described as an off ramp, calming russia over the stated fears for the safety over crimeans.

one option not on the table is military action. we are trying to de-escalate this. another adding that the focus is on economic actions. democrats and republicans support them. some say we should have seen it coming. >> vladimir putin is plays chess, we are playing marbles. i don't think we are close. >> an interesting statement from the g7. until yesterday it was g8. the g7 condemns what russia has done in ukraine and are suspending preparationers, the remaining members - this is an annual summit of the world's leading industrial nations. it was to take place in, of all places, sochi russia. the g7 are suspending preparations for the summit. >> g8 soon maybe to be g7. mike viqueira at the white house. we have more in the week ahead

segment at 8:30pm eastern tonight. still ahead on al jazeera america. the farm bill cut millions from the food stamp program. the governors found a loophole to help the poor. details next. plus... >> i'm stephanie stanton, the rain storms in california - but was it enough to put a dent in the drought. those stories coming up. psh

aipac begins as the world watches the crisis between russia and ukraine. the secretary began on updates with work with leaders in kiev. >> i have spoken several times to the ukrainian prime minister who assures me that the government is prepared to take the necessary steps to build a secure economic foundation, including urgently needed market

reforms that will restore financial stability, unleash economic potential and allow people to better achieve their aspirations. >> a group of six senators wrote president obama a letter calling for sanctions in iran if a nuclear agreement is not reached. >> tomorrow the supreme court will hear the case of a man who is believed to be mentally disabled, but not disabled enough to not face the death penalty. he has an iq of 70, but scores as low as 69, but as high as 80. back in 2001 the supreme court banned executions of the mentally enabled but left the definition. the lawyers plan to travel the state's use of a cut-off to determine mental disability. >> the governors of new york and connecticut plan to take

advantage of a loophole to preserve half a billion. they'll bump up heating assistance some low-income residence receive triggering the preservation of $67 billion in benefits in connecticut, and $450 million in new york state. the loophole is not a secret, but new york and connecticut are the first states to take advantage. supporters of social services place the moves, others say they were not created to be bent in this way. >> days of rain drenched the red carpet of the academy. tents have been put up around dowl by. "gravity," and "12 years a slave" are some of the nominees for best picture. >> it's not enough rain for drought-stricken farmers in california. the total rain fall is below

seasonal average. stephanie stanton has more. >> it is welcome rain here in the farming community of california. about an hour north of the los angeles. anywhere between one to six inches fell. meteorologist say it's nowhere near enough to break the draught that has been plaguing california in recent years. a large area is at 5 to 25% of normal, even after the rain fall. that puts it in perspective. and an entire area is below 50% of normal. >> not only is it dry, but because of the drainage last year and the forest fires, there's flooding now and mudslides. so you get hit a number of ways. >> the weekend storm in los angeles brought rain and mud flows to the colby fire burn area. luckily there was no major damage. officials were well prepared. more than 1,000 homes were under

mandatory evacuation orders. downtown l.a. received 5 inches of rain. below the seasonal average of 15. it will take several storms, and it appears unlikely to happen. for now the drought in california continues. >> that's got be so frustrating to people out there. they need rain desperately. when it comes to causes, all kinds of problems. >> that's the case, when you get the dry ground. it wants to soak up the moisture. the storm coming in on the west coast has been pummelling parts of california. now it is washington, oregon. this is bringing in up to two feet of snow. this makes its way east ward, you can see the snow coming down down to paulman, we are getting a snow-rain mix. just a few scattered rain shores for southern california.

it's a little drier there. it's further east the other storm, priming the pump. we have federal officers announcing they are closed for the day tomorrow, and various things you should check on if you work in washington d.c., baltimore, philadelphia you'll have big problems due to ice, accumulation and snow-sweet mix. now, a little rain is pushing across the east coast. this storm a bringing snow into arkansas, ice now is and you across northern arkansas, moving into kentucky. in fact, we have freezing rain where you quickly get the ice accumulating on roads and sidewalks where you don't expect it, in the state of alabama. not only will it be warm and toasty, but you have freezing rain and snow and size coming

down. as we get there tonight. sleet, snow and ice will be transitioning. it's the morning hours that it will be across, as we get into the virginias. manhattan was getting impressive snow a kumulation. you'll get ice on the ground. it is going to be a problem setting up overnight. tomorrow morning commutes are going to be difficult. a lot of folks advising stay off the roads in the earn states. >> good advice. >> former australian prime minister julia gillard has a new mission to educate for children on "talk to al jazeera". she was asked if it was necessary to remind countries that education include girls and minorities. >> it's important to remind all of us that everybody's got to be in the game.

there are 57 million children around the world who don't get to go to school. some are in ethnic minorities that are discriminated against, many of them are girls, and many of them are children in conflict and fragile-affected zones. the world made a promise that we'd get universal primary school education for them, and we've got make good on that promise. >> that full interview with julia gillard on "talk to al jazeera", 10:00 p.m. eastern tonight. still ahead on al jazeera america. our week ahead special. two countries on the brink of war. a look at the military might of ukraine and russia, and what the u.s. can do, if anything, to keep the peace.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. here are the top stories this half hour. tomorrow the case of a mentally disabled inmate facing the death

penalty comes up before the supreme court. freddy lee hall's iq is a few points over the definition of mentally disabled. the supreme court banned executions of mentally disabled in 2002. >> the american israeli public affairs committee opened in washington d.c. the white house has been focussed on the crisis in ukraine. but a group of senators asks president obama to return attention to his meeting with binyamin netanyahu. >> ukraine's prime minister called it a declaration of draw, and is ordering up reservists. secretary of state john kerry will meet with leaders in kiev on tuesday. the g7 condemned russia's action, pulling out of a planned conference in sochi. >> the united states and europe are putting pressure on russia to pull out of ukraine. they are hoping to use economic and diplomatic sanctions. it's not clear if it will work.

rosalind jordan has more. >> the secretary of state john kerry used the sunday current affairs shows to repeat the message to vladimir putin - sending russian troops into ukraine is illegal. you don't invade another country on phoney pretext in order to assert your interests. >> the u.s. doesn't think sending in troops of its own is the right response. washington and european nations are taking aim at things that matter to moscow. for example, the g8 summit in sochi. the u.s. stopped its planning for the meetings and minutes it may not attend at all. canada, france and britain have taken the same approach. >> there could be ultimately asset freezes, visa bans. there could be, certainly, disruption of any of the normal tried route eaches, business draw back.

the rooubel is going down. >> members of congress are ready to draw up sanctions. >> i think congress will have to play an important role if we believe it's important to tone down the military options. the international community of gambling, that russian business interests will pressure putin to think of the well being and change course. the british prime minister says it doesn't stop the need for talks. >> we urge russians to speak directly to ukrainians. so far they have not wanted to do that. we have to explore how we can speak to each other under the auspices under the united nations or the organizations for security and cooperation in europe. >> the crisis has n.a.t.o. ambassadors meeting in brussels, and conference calls and strategy meetings held.

the goal to prevent a war with russia. >> it is sunday night, time for the segment, "the week ahead", and we go deep into the crisis of ukraine and explore the options to russia, ukraine, n.a.t.o. and the united states. we have more on how this could all unfoam. >> the u.s. is categorising putin's move as an invasion of a sovereign country. and calls on putin to withdraw troops and refrain from entry into ukraine. there may be few options to counter the moves. russia could face international isolation with a boycott of the june g8 summit in sochi. economic sanctions could be put in place. the u.s. could refuse to grant them visas, limit trade and assets. meanwhile vladimir putin showed

in georgia in 2008 that he is prepared to go to war. ukraine has a population of 45 million which is nine times that of jordan. russia could retaliate economically with the gas prom card. state owned giant gas prom provides 30% of the needs. the gas discount provided to ukraine, and gas prices there could sore. putin has secured parliamentary permission to move troops beyond cremia and further into ukraine claiming that he is protecting russian citizens and compatriots. there is likely to be little appetite for nato reaction. ukraine is not a member, meaning the u.s. and europe are not obligated to come to their

defense. broader sanctions are not likely because russia holds veto power as a member of the security council. >> the white house is looking at economic, political and diplomatic options. the g7 says it suspended planning for a summit in sochi. what else could we expect. we could have clues from the russia-georgian war, two regions trying to break away. n.a.t.o. and u.s. protested. that area is now virtually under russia's control. we may have answers on tuesday when john kerry visits. timothy fry is with columbia university, and lincoln mitchell is the author of the book "the colour revolutions." let me ask you: are we facing another cold war here? >> i don't think we are facing a cold war. there's a number of complex

issues. there's a rush to try to think of short-term solutions that will solve the problem. these are difficult issues that will take a long time to resolve. i don't think we are reaching the level of a cold war. >> what do we do moving forward here? >> a lot of options presented - these are probably necessary and almost certainly not sufficient. one of the truths here is we have fewer options than we would like. it became clear in 2008. it isn't lost on russia and vladimir putin. in 2008 the incursion - the precedent was then, and the west was powerless to stop it. >> let's talk about the russian georgian war. back then the george w. bush administration considered a military response. the u.s. sent humanitarian

supplies. he upped his naval presence in the black sea. he sent ships there as well. he docked in a port saying they were there to deliver aid. there was a clear message. we are not hearing the options being thrown out now. >> you have to remember that ukraine is not georgia, georgia is 4 million, it's easier to rally domestic support. ukraine in russia have long relations, many with close ties socially with ukraine. i don't think there's the same sense. >> do you think there's not as much sympathy for ukraine? >> i think he was referring to domestic politics of ukraine versus georgia. when russia invaded georgia, the two areas, south ossetia, there

is sympathy to russia. you go out of georgia, very strong pro-western, and the things you outlined at the time it happened, that was - they were not perceived as the reason that russia finally stopped. i mean, russia went - we saw the video of the president, he thought bombs were coming but they weren't. >> the argument is that back in 2008 there seemed to be more interests, more concern from n.a.t.o. from the united states trying to intervene and help the people of georgia. >> you disagree. i think it sounds similar today to what it did in august. we were john mccain.

the john kerry statement of pardon the silliness of united states saying you don't invade another country on false pretences - we get a good chuckle. senator mccain said the same kind of thing, sovereign states don't innovate southern state. and aid - the american administration - it was not adverse to military action, if you remembered, around the world, saying at the end of the day we can't do it. >> what can the united states and n.a.t.o. do, aside from the sanctions and talk. >> a lot of what they can do is symbolic punishment of georgia, kicking russia out of the g8. economic sanctions from the u.s. side are not likely to have a big effect. there's $38 million of trade between the u.s. and russia. it's not a lot. there won't be a lot of appetite in europe, which has greater trading relations with russia.

visa bans might be helpful, but there's not a lot the u.s. can do. i should say that the symbolic acts are not unimportant. let's remember that russia spend $51 billion to try to present itself as a modern developed country that played well with others. right now it doesn't look like a good investment. a lot of people are saying that russia is not going to do this. it is worried about its international image. >> it depend what happens on the ground in ukraine. if reassurances are made that the russian military bases will be protected, that there can be constitutional engineering to get greater say to the russian population, we could see a deescalation. in large part because russia's interests would have been satisfied. >> you talk about russia's appetite and the biggest cards, saying that this controls the

regional supply through the state-owned company. i didn't realise that gas prom supplies 30% of the natural gas and 60% of that goes through ukraine. how much of a factor is that in all of this. >> it's a big factor. if you are sitting in ukraine or in georgia, or sitting in moldova, russia is a serious threat to the sovereignty of your country. we have seen that. if you move beyond that into europe, particularly germany, france, the united states, that framework falls apart. russia is not a threat to security of those places. it is for europe, an important economic relationship. and the russians understand that. a lot of talk, at the end of the day when i hear the u.s. speaking of sanctions - can we

dollar on that. sanctions are real if they are joined in the u.s. and europe. europe may say "we don't want to do this?" do you run the risk of alienating russia? >> russia is a country with its own interests and will act in those interests. what's the way it is. russia will do that, as any powerful, regional power would do. so do we alienate them. that is the goal. that is probably as good a response as you can come up with. it's not sufficient. >> do you agree with that. >> it doesn't look as if the russians have been successful about delivering. their benefit as a partner for the u.s. has not been great, and on iran as well, it seems as if

the u.s.-iranian relationship take over more as trying to use russia to pressure iran. looking forward. what do you expect russia's next move to be in this? the nest move will be to try to find a way to guarantee the security of the military bases. to guarantee the political interests of the domestic population, constitutional engineering to give greater economy to the crimean government. then, i think, what we are likely to see is the deescall eights, six months from now or a year from now. we are likely to see crimea that is part of ukraine with greater autonomy. >> do you think they'll further this and carve off more of ukraine? >> i don't think so. i think a settlement where they are not grabbing up chunks, what

are they doing, colonising it, setting up a puppet state. russia understand it's biting off more than they can chew. they want to be there for a long run, they have seen a pro-western leaning government come to power. that may happen again. they are thinking of a long game. they want what they need, what they view as protecting the russian population. >> we'll see what happens. >> thank you for yore insight. we appreciate it. before we wrap up here are some key event. on monday osama bin laden's son-in-law goes on trial in new york, taking place on american soil, a senior leader. >> tuesday the budget to congress and friday, the south by south-west festival in austin

texas, running through march 16th. >> next on al jazeera america, the o.j. simpson trial of south africa, the trial of oscar pistorius. >> and tiger woods makes an early exit in the final round of the honda classic. >> two days before fat tuesday. live to new orleans for the mardi gras celebrations down

there. >> people today mourn the deaths of those killed in western china. 10 assail ants atracked a train station with knives on saturday killing 33.

police killed for the attackers of the the chinese government calling it an act of terrorist. south australian track star heads to church, many worried a fair trial for the olympian is not possible. oscar pistorius is charged with murdering his girl. he says it's an accident. it's a top headline in south africa. some parts of the trial can be televised. media coverage could have a huge impact on the case. >> the media might make or break the case because information that is not in the public domain yet might come when the trial runs and other witnesses might hear or see this evidence or statements that have been made and alter versions put to the investigators. >> the trial highly publicised. the 24 hour channel cover it

began broadcasting today. >> thousands in venezuela angry about high inflation and crime. today was a little different. demonstrators were celebrating carnivale, wearing costumes as they protest. a light spin. >> tiger woods making headlines. what is he up to? >> it appeared he was getting his moo up, carding a 65 yesterday. this morning he had to withdraw from the tournament. he tried to man up. if he had back problems he can feel his pain. 38-year-old woulds was slicing and dicing. tiger decided that's it and walked off the court. it's the sixth time in the career he withdrew from the tournament. tiger issued a statement saying:

cl >> as for the action on the course, rory mcilroy had a 2-stroke lead heading to the final ground. having issues - rory mcilroy lost the lead ending up in a four man play-off. me flew and was getting chippy from the rough stuff. i hate it when it happens. opening the door for russell hemally. captures his second pga title, pocketing $1 million. >> ladies, they went to a southern death play-off at the hs b.c. women's championship. paula cremer lined up from 75 feet away. there's no way it's going in, right. way.

the girl nicknamed the pink panther is pretty in pink. she captures her first lpj event u.s. women's open. >> i can't tell you how good it feels. this is a big win, a huge win. i'm shaking. oh, my gosh. this has been a long time coming. i wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for colin, my caddy, my best friend. >> guess which n.b.a. jersey has been the number one seller. if you say lebron james, blake griff yin, no. it's jason collins, the first openly gay player. his jersey sales skyrocketed. he wears the number of a clem student murdered after shepherd was beaten and tortured. the n.b.a. will donate the post-traumatic stress disorder

to the matthew shepherd foundation and the gay, lesbian and straight education network. collins wore 98 before he came out and believes the salesar attributable to shepherd and what happened that year. >> it's a tribute to matthew shepherd, and the year 1998, a project was founded that year. the year 1998 has a lot of significance to be and other people. >> the trevor program focuses on suicide prevention for gay takens. >> collins and the nets play a home game against the chicago bulls. >> jason collins wore 98 before coming out to support the project. >> yes. >> interesting. >> with the cell ticks and the wizards. >> great. good to know. >> well, in a few hours

professional samba dancers in rio kick off the carnivale. thousands kicked back at a block party. revellers dressed in home made costumes, flooded the park. fused with punk and rock. they responsible for hundreds of street parties. they look like they are having a good time. new orleans not to be outdone. visitors pouring into that city. more on that. what are you seeing out there tonight. >> well, as you well know, the group bacus, one of the big parades. this is a city that swells from 400,000 to 12 million during mardi gras. a lot of people leave inhibitions at home. sometimes it results in bar tabs and headaches. there may be hang over help.

on almost every corner of the french corner there's an abundance of xol. you can yk alcohol. you can buy it and bounce from bar to bar. >> after the parades. we are hurting. >> what happened? >> too much of this. >> it claims to cure what ails you. they over a shot of a different kind. >> i need a way to develop newtry et cetera to the system or bloodstream. it's the fastest way to rehydrate. >> it's not a huge shot, you don't feel wired, you leave feeling well. like your best self. >> dr minion mary opened a

clinic to deal withal ergeies, dehydration, exhaustion. if people are dehydrating, it's not my place to decide why or judge why, whether it's from having bad food or drinks, it's not my place to judge. >> the treatment is a national trend. similar clinics popped up. it's an hour long intervenous infusion of nutrients, a lot more expensive than the hair of the dog message. >> they charge $15 for a bloody mary, that cures it. >> some say another drink may seem like it helps, it's a short-term solution. >> it's a long term remedy for overindulgence. >> i think that's a good thing, it's letting you know that this

is not right for your body. if you can get a quick fix. i think that that's a way to really set yourself up for some addictive before. she says that people shouldn't have to suffer if they drink too much. >> i have guy that is will pay that. they are very hunk obvious. 150 bucks is cheep. >> one of the big problems is a lot of people start behind the eight ball. he says that most people are 2-3% deheightated on any given day. the key for that is to drink water. as you and i well know, that proves to be a tall task for a lot of people in the celebration

spirit. >> i don't know, you earn the hangovers. it's cheating if you go to a clippic and -- clinic and get an iv put in your arm. >> it is a little bit cheating. >> what's that. >> it seems to be a trend. we spend a couple of days at the place. many people came in. needless to say most did not want to go on camera and talk about their celebrations from the night before. a lot of people went in there and cheat. >> we celebrate carnival. we appreciate it. that's the show on this sunday night. i'm jonathan betz, i'll be back in several hours, 11:00 pm eastern with more news. first a look at the headlines after this short break.

>> you're watching al jazeera america. i'm jonathan betz in new york with the headlines. ukraine's interim president accused russia of declaring war, coming after russia seized key

installations in the southern region of crimea. secretary of state john kerry will travel to kiev to meet with ukrainian officials. the g7 suspended talks in protoast over russia's actions. >> protesters in venezuela in full action. they are unhappy with nicolas maduro, but are celebrating carnivale whilst calling for an end to corruption and high violence. >> the attorney-general plans to challenge the the use of the iq standa standard. having a higher iq means an inmate by be executed. it's been left up to the state to determine an inmate's mental status. >> one of the biggest nights in hollywood is here. the 86th academy awards is under

way at the dowl by, host the by ellen degeneres, broadcast by 225 countries. >> al jazeera america presents toughest place to be a farmer - starts right now. usual day then; obviously. >> in an arid land where warriors fight gun battles to defend their cattle. >> he's prepared to give his life for his cows, because if they haven't got them, they've got nothing. >> he'll be faced with some unusual traditions... >> i just don't want to be circumcised today.